Mark Foote

On 2/28/2024 at 12:34 PM, steve said:

 

... With persistence, through coming to know who I am not, I have the opportunity to actually discover the truth of who I am, which is far more powerful and has far greater potential than I ever imagined.
 

It's an interesting point.  I believe that in the first four Nikayas, at least, Gautama usually stopped at "who I am not", as here:

 

Whatever… is material shape, past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, mean or excellent, or whatever is far or near, (a person), thinking of all this material shape as ‘This is not mine, this am I not, this is not my self’, sees it thus as it really is by means of perfect wisdom. Whatever is feeling… perception… the habitual tendencies… whatever is consciousness, past, future, or present (that person), thinking of all this consciousness as ‘This is not mine, this am I not, this is not my self’, sees it thus as it really is by means of perfect wisdom. (For one) knowing thus, seeing thus, there are no latent conceits that ‘I am the doer, mine is the doer’ in regard to this consciousness-informed body.”

(MN III 18-19, Pali Text Society Vol. III pg 68)

 

 

I see that as a major difference between the teachings of Gautama, and the teachings found in most other wisdom traditions.

 

 

On 2/27/2024 at 4:49 PM, moment said:

still, a sight to see

I got tired of myself

maybe more later

 

maybe more later

but for right now, gone splashing
out in the desert

22 hours ago, silent thunder said:

Of late my experience has evolved from the notion of a human teacher arriving, to that of when one is listening and present in life... all of nature reveals as a teacher.
 

 

... in the end I am convinced that everything I need to know I learn by being where I am, as I am. I just have to be open to it.

(yers truly, from Post: “I tried your practice last night”- humbleone, from “The Dao Bums”)

 

 

 

This place is goin' to the dogs...

 

On 1/5/2021 at 5:23 AM, Maddie said:

 

The teaching that initially got my attention was the four Noble truths, specifically the second Noble Truth that desire is the cause of suffering. This still seems to be my main focus in Buddhism and the thing that makes the most sense to me.

 

I wonder which teachings got other people's attention and what teachings are other people's primary approach and practice?
 

The classic cases of Ch'an and Zen were what got my attention.  Read a lot of Alan Watts, back in the high school days, but although I understood what he had to say, I was not satisfied with my mind.  A friend turned me on to the zazen instructions in the back of "Three Pillars of Zen", so I began to sit--it was hard to sit even five minutes with my legs crossed, at first.

In college, a friend took me down to hear Kobun Chino Otogawa speak at the Santa Cruz Zen Center, in California.  I attended a number of his lectures, and found him remarkable.

In about 1975, I found a copy of Henry Clarke Warren's "Buddhism in Translations".  The material from Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga was clearly garbage to me, and there's a lot of it in Warren's work, but the material from the Nikayas about the concentrations fascinated me.  In the early '80's, I bought the books of the first four Nikayas from the Pali Text Society, and over the course of a few years read them.

They're not different from Zen, when you get right down to it (A reconciliation of Theravadin and Zen practice).

On 1/5/2021 at 10:19 AM, EmeraldHead said:

 

Did Gautama ever answer WHAT he was? not a self, not a nonself...but what?

 

 

 

Your worship will become a deva?

No indeed, brahmin.  I'll not become a deva.

Then your worship will become a gandarva?

No indeed, brahmin, I'll not become a gandarva.

A yakka, then?

No indeed, brahmin.  Not a yakka.

Then your worship will become a human being?

No indeed, brahmin.  I'll not become a human being.

... Who then, pray, will your worship become?
... Just as, brahmin, a lotus, blue, red, or white, though born in the water, grown up in the water, when it reaches the surface stands there unsoiled by the water,--just so, brahmin, though born in the world, grown up in the world, having overcome the world, I abide unsoiled by the world.  Take it that I am a Buddha, brahmin.

(AN Book of Fours 36, Pali Text Society AN Vol 2 p 44)
 

On 2/11/2024 at 10:57 AM, Maddie said:

Just curious what everyone's favorite or least favorite Suttas/Sutras were and why? 
 

As far as favorites, I think that would have to be Maha-Parinibbana Sutta, because of a few things Gautama said in that sutta:

 

(from Part Two: The Journey to Vesali)

 

32. ... What more does the community of bhikkhus expect from me, Ananda? I have set forth the Dhamma without making any distinction of esoteric and exoteric doctrine; there is nothing, Ananda, with regard to the teachings that the Tathagata holds to the last with the closed fist of a teacher who keeps some things back. 

 

Now I am frail, Ananda, old, aged, far gone in years. This is my eightieth year, and my life is spent. Even as an old cart, Ananda, is held together with much difficulty, so the body of the Tathagata is kept going only with supports. It is, Ananda, only when the Tathagata, disregarding external objects, with the cessation of certain feelings, attains to and abides in the signless concentration of mind, [19] that his body is more comfortable.

 

33. "Therefore, Ananda, be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto yourselves, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge.

 

"And how, Ananda, is a bhikkhu an island unto himself, a refuge unto himself, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as his island, the Dhamma as his refuge, seeking no other refuge?

 

34. "When he dwells contemplating the body in the body, earnestly, clearly comprehending, and mindfully, after having overcome desire and sorrow in regard to the world; when he dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, the mind in the mind, and mental objects in mental objects, earnestly, clearly comprehending, and mindfully, after having overcome desire and sorrow in regard to the world, then, truly, he is an island unto himself, a refuge unto himself, seeking no external refuge; having the Dhamma as his island, the Dhamma as his refuge, seeking no other refuge.

 

35. "Those bhikkhus of mine, Ananda, who now or after I am gone, abide as an island unto themselves, as a refuge unto themselves, seeking no other refuge; having the Dhamma as their island and refuge, seeking no other refuge: it is they who will become the highest, [20] if they have the desire to learn."
 

 

(from Part Six: The Passing Away)

 

8. ... Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!

(DN 16 PTS: D ii 72 chapters 1-6 "Maha-parinibbana Sutta: Last Days of the Buddha", tr Sister Vajira & Francis Story, © 1998)

 

 

My favorite translation of that last would be:  "Everything changes.  Work out your own salvation!"

 

20 hours ago, moment said:

Lakes in the desert,
Mirage whispers of cool blue,
Deceptive relief
 

Deceptive relief,

'cause it's only a foot deep
still, a sight to see

photo by James Marvin Phelps, Lake Manly in the Mojave a few days ago


 

On 2/26/2024 at 1:43 PM, thelerner said:

I read somewhere that the GF instructions had an oral component- teacher to student.  I'm inclined to agree.  That there's an ingredient X.. missing in the instructions.  
 

There's a missing ingredient in all the wisdom traditions, IMHO--it's missing because it must be supplied through the experience of the individual.  

 

But usually in counting breathing or following breathing, you feel as if you are doing something, you know– you are following breathing, and you are counting breathing. This is, you know, why counting breathing or following breathing practice is, you know, for us it is some preparation– preparatory practice for shikantaza because for most people it is rather difficult to sit, you know, just to sit.

(“The Background of Shikantaza”, Shunryu Suzuki; San Francisco, February 22, 1970)

 

Suzuki said that directing attention to the movement of breath (“following breathing… counting breathing”) has the feeling of “doing something”, and that “doing something” makes such practice only preparatory.
 

Although attention can be directed to the movement of breath, necessity in the movement of breath can also direct attention, as I wrote previously:
 

There can… come a moment when the movement of breath necessitates the placement of attention at a certain location in the body, or at a series of locations, with the ability to remain awake as the location of attention shifts retained through the exercise of presence.
 

There’s a frailty in the structure of the lower spine, and the movement of breath can place the point of awareness in such a fashion as to engage a mechanism of support for the spine, often in stages.

 

... The flow of “doing something” in the body, of activity initiated by habit or volition, (can cease).  Instead, activity is generated purely by the placement of attention, and the location of attention can flow ("just sitting").

 

... The difficulty is that most people will lose consciousness before they cede activity to the location of attention–they lose the presence of mind with the placement of attention, because they can’t believe that action in the body is possible without “doing something”...

(Shunryu Suzuki on Shikantaza and the Theravadin Stages)

 

That the activity flows and develops in particular patterns and particular locations, won't matter whose description is in hand if it's all "doing something".  Doing nothing, yet everything is done, is an experience.

 

23 hours ago, Taomeow said:

 

You're right, sometimes it's nice to share.   
 

College days, out at Gazos Creek above Santa Cruz, letting the wind play harmonics on the guitar strings:

 

 

Learned to play this in the college days--Fahey was so weird, but such a strong alternating thumb beat.  

 

 

 

 

47 minutes ago, Taomeow said:

 

Ink blooms on paper.

A dream of Japan dissolves.

California dreams.  

 

California dreams
an island of sun and sand

lakes in the desert

 

 

I reworked one of my previous posts on this thread into a post on my own website.

Bindi, my apologies--I know anything having to do with the teachings of Gautama the Shakyan is like some kind of shadow-side distraction to you...

 

The Practice of Time
 

One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular.
 

(Carl Jung: The Philosophical Tree; Collected Works 13: Alchemical Studies. Paragraph 335)

 

Shunryu Suzuki described the true practice of seated meditation as “just sitting”, meaning that “doing something” in the act of sitting has ceased.  I believe, as Gautama the Buddha said, that the cessation of “doing something” in speech, body, or mind is a contact of freedom.

 

I don’t think the integration of childhood memories, pre-speech memories, and inured emotional responses can take place apart from that cessation of “doing something” in the body and mind and that contact of freedom.

 

I practice more now, as I see that the cessation I experience in “just sitting”  helps to provide a sense of timing in my life, a sense of timing that seems related to a whole beyond what I can know.

 

I’m not looking to become enlightened, or to make the darkness conscious.

 

… time, just as it is, is being, and being is all time.

 

(Dogen:  “Uji (Being-Time)”; “The Heart of Dōgen’s Shōbōgenzō”, tr by Waddell, Norman; Abe, Masao. SUNY Press. 2001. p 48)

 

 

(The Practice of Time)

 

 

 

 

On 2/16/2024 at 7:49 PM, Keith108 said:

 

Who’s to say what’s real?

Winter’s cold, fireplace crackling

Just now, Yin and Yang 

 

 

 

Just now, Yin and Yang
the Siamese cats, went out
should'a seen 'em go

20 hours ago, Jenn said:

That has been my experience as well, unless you deal with the root of the problem, using willpower to overcome emotions is like a house of cards, great when there is no wind, but crumbles when the storm brews and you need it most.  Like building up confidence after a difficult childhood by improving yourself, taking healthy risks, self-compassion, etc.  It's good and healthy, you can rise out of your childhood and be strong and confident going forward, as long as life doesn't throw you more than you can bear and you find yourself right back to being insecure.  Almost like you never stopped being insecure, you just found a way to not be affected it while times are good enough that you could persist.

 

Digging through the tangled mess of emotions, desires, and social programming, at some point, you start finding roots, once you deal with one, poof, you are free from its influence.  Instantly^{(Ignoring all the months / years it took you to get to that point hehe)}
 

 

Shunryu Suzuki described the true practice of seated meditation as "just sitting", meaning that "doing something" in the act of sitting has ceased.  What I find is that I have to constantly relearn the way my body and mind sit.  I think that's because as the two coordinate to relinquish "doing" in sitting, I develop more feeling for my body and for my senses, and that changes the path to "just sitting" for the next time around.

I believe, as Gautama the Buddha said, that the cessation of "doing something" in speech, body, or mind is a contact of freedom.  

I don't think the integration of childhood memories, pre-speech memories, and inured emotional responses can take place apart from that cessation of "doing something" in the body and mind and that contact of freedom.  

I practice more now, as I see that thought directed to the cessation I experience in "just sitting" (if not the actual experience of cessation) helps to make a sense of timing in my life, a sense of timing that seems related to a whole beyond what I can know. 

(apologies for the extensive editing after posting--what matters in the post is so much clearer after I hit "save"!   )
 

14 hours ago, Bindi said:

 

To allow the unconscious to become conscious, we need to allow the language of the unconscious to be given a voice. That language is primarily emotions, if I’m looking anywhere else, I’m not looking in the right place. The language of the unconscious isn’t rational, and it can’t be accessed rationally, or suppressed rationally. Say you have an unconscious proclivity developed at an early age, and your only awareness of it is the emotion and action it promotes in you. Just stopping the action requires endless willpower, but looking squarely at the underlying emotion and consequent action allows the entire issue to dissolve. To be honest, I think think Suzuki is too worried about suffering, I would rather embrace the suffering and in the fullness of time see it dissipate, rather than skirting around it and trying to find the thin line between attending to it and not being caught by it. Far too much work IMO. 
 

The language of the unconscious for me comes through my experience of awareness by necessity, of awareness taking place out of necessity.  The necessity can be the necessity for breath, it can be the necessity for support for the structure of the spine, or it can be a necessity arising from somewhere outside the boundaries of my senses.  

 

Underlying emotion and consequent action is the work of a lifetime, to square with the free placement of attention out of necessity experienced in the movement of breath, yet the understanding is out of the free placement of attention and not the other way around.

I see that it's possible to realize activity solely by virtue of the free placement of attention, with regard to inhalation and exhalation.  If I can practice that, and then touch on that during the day, maybe I can come to an understanding through grace of underlying emotion and action.  

My only shot, I think.

 

 

 

12 hours ago, Bindi said:

Perhaps the shadow self is more abiding than just the devious side of ego, for example what if the shadow self was the shadow face of kundalini, a potentially powerful and creative aspect that is not accepted by us on a conscious level. I see the shadow self as the equivalent of the unlovable female side within that needs to be embraced to reveal her true vital and powerful nature, associated with emotions and black and female and water. Just following this possibility, the potential coexistence becomes Shakti and shiva. From the article above “What is especially interesting is the idea that the shadow contains not just destructive aspects of the personality, but also potent, creative, and powerful capabilities.” 
 

I liked the quotes from Jung in your original post, but I found the explanations by whoever authored the article uninspired.

Daniel Goleman in "Emotional Intelligence" attributes the impulsive actions that overwhelm our better judgement to memories from before we had speech, stored in the amygdala.  

I think it's true that we have to come to terms with action whose source is in the unconscious, and with action whose source is in our innermost belief.  If we don't permit ourselves to examine carefully what we truly believe, and especially the actions manifested from those beliefs, then we are two mints in one (so to speak).

The question is how do we relinquish volition to the action of the unconscious, how do we remain conscious as action of the unconscious takes place, as action out of our innermost beliefs plays out like a hypnotist's suggestion in the action of a subject under hypnosis.  

I would suggest through the sense of place associated with awareness, from moment to moment.

 

When “doing something” has ceased, and there is “not one particle of the body” that cannot receive the placement of attention, then the placement of attention is free to shift as necessary in the movement of breath.
 

When a presence of mind is retained as the placement of attention shifts, then the natural tendency toward the free placement of attention can draw out thought initial and sustained, and bring on the stages of concentration.

Shunryu Suzuki said:

 

To enjoy our life– complicated life, difficult life– without ignoring it, and without being caught by it. Without suffer from it. That is actually what will happen to us after you practice zazen (“just sitting”).

 

(“To Actually Practice Selflessness”, August Sesshin Lecture Wednesday, August 6, 1969, San Francisco; parenthetical explanation added)
 

I practice now to experience the free placement of attention as the sole source of activity in the body in the movement of breath, and in my “complicated, difficult” daily life, I look for the mindfulness that allows me to touch on that freedom.

("To Enjoy Our Life")

 

 

20 minutes ago, Cobie said:

The asking was perfectly alright by me.
What I do not like is the quoting of a post that already was deleted.
 

I'd like to do that (delete the posts I quote that you delete), but my fingers won't lift to the keyboard.  

I think that's because I don't find your posts overly offensive, although I can see where on some occasions they might be embarassing to you.  I hope you'll forgive me.

Let's have a look at you, then.

 

 

4 hours ago, liminal_luke said:

Oh what the hey....

 

 

 

 

You look great, liminal, unbridled optimism and all!  

 

 

6 hours ago, Taomeow said:

 

 

Why is it that you look exactly as I imagined you to look--ha ha! 

10 hours ago, Apech said:

Why is it that you look exactly how I imagined you would look! 

23 hours ago, steve said:

Posted 22 hours ago

  23 hours ago, liminal_luke said:

Many thanks to those who have posted pics.  To some it may seem like a small thing but I think it's an act of courage; it's not always so easy to allow oneself to be seen.  I think the pictures make us more real to each other.  They foster connection and ever so slightly bridge the gap between the virtual and "real" worlds.  As for myself, I'm not quite ready.  Maybe someday.  It's odd that sharing a picture of my physical presence would seem so challenging when I've shared so many other details of my life here over the years.  I guess we're all different and I've got to honor where I am in the moment.  This thread will remain as an invitation for some future less neurotic version of myself to take the leap.  
 

 

  22 hours ago, Mark Foote said:

It's odd that sharing a picture of my physical presence would seem so challenging when I've shared so many other details of my life here

I think is that precisely why?
 

Steve, buddy--you have misattributed the quote to me.  You will have to ask liminal_luke,  although I don't know if he's really willing to go there right now.

 

p.s.--I see where he went there, yay Liminal!

 

 

1 minute ago, liminal_luke said:

Many thanks to those who have posted pics.  To some it may seem like a small thing but I think it's an act of courage; it's not always so easy to allow oneself to be seen.  I think the pictures make us more real to each other.  They foster connection and ever so slightly bridge the gap between the virtual and "real" worlds.  As for myself, I'm not quite ready.  Maybe someday.  It's odd that sharing a picture of my physical presence would seem so challenging when I've shared so many other details of my life here over the years.  I guess we're all different and I've got to honor where I am in the moment.  This thread will remain as an invitation for some future less neurotic version of myself to take the leap.  
 

I shot it in the bathroom mirror, which I should have cleaned beforehand. 

If you shoot in a mirror, you can frame the shot and even possibly add lighting, as I did (with the room light).  Just remember to look at the camera!

 

9 hours ago, Elysium said:

Seems like this is a condition that can be reversed or mitigated at the very least.  Also seems like an impossible task however, after all one lives their lives like this.
 

 

 

I practice now to experience the free placement of attention as the sole source of activity in the body in the movement of breath, and in my “complicated, difficult” daily life, I look for the mindfulness that allows me to touch on that freedom. 

 

("To Enjoy Our Life")

 

 

 

11 hours ago, snowymountains said:

 

Unless you bring the unconscious to the conscious, the answer is not much.

 

 

 

Other way 'round, for me--it's bring the conscious to the unconscious:

 

There can also come a moment when the movement of breath necessitates the placement of attention at a certain location in the body, or at a series of locations, with the ability to remain awake as the location of attention shifts retained through the exercise of presence.

 

(Common Ground)

 

 

 

With my familiar, Sophie: